Suds
by BLSH
Summary: Pushing her door open with her shoulder, she threw her shopping bags into the apartment, disregarding womanly grace. Kaname Chidori had a bad day. She had no idea, however, that her bathroom held a surprise that might just turn her whole day around.
1. Chapter 1

**Suds**

She saw her breath touch the door as she exhaled dramatically when she found her key inside her war zone of a bag. The chill settling over the whole city that year was bordering on unnatural. The cold went straight through her bones and came back to wrap around her again. Unnatural. _I should move somewhere with flamingos in their natural habitat._

Pushing her reluctant door open with her shoulder, she threw her shopping bags into the apartment, disregarding womanly grace. Kaname Chidori had a bad day.

The train to work that morning was late due to a fuse or some other electrical problem that took ten years off her life to fix. She spent an insufferable eight hours dealing with an intern's unforgivable accounting blunder. She only had time to eat a plain roll for lunch. Her bag of groceries tore once she got to the station an hour later than usual. An old pervert managed to cop a feel, a grave mistake he soon realized at the sharp end of her heeled shoe. The cold made banging her head on concrete less painful.

And on top of all that, she missed him.

She missed him so much she often forgot what day it was, and that salt was different from sugar.

He had been deployed to Bolivia. He had warned her that the mission might extend up to three weeks. Eighteen days have passed since they last saw each other by their bedroom door.

She threw a fit before he left as she always does. After several hours, they apologized to each other as they always did. She often postulates that she would be more emotionally steady if only their mutual apologizing didn't always leave such a searing, sensual memory for her to hold on to while he was away.

_Dummy._

She shed her bonnet, her wet boots, and her coat as she meandered towards the kitchen. She could clean that mess up later, she thought. She didn't, however, notice a very small mound of dry soil near the door's hinges.

The wall clock read 8:43 p.m.

_Where's the chocolate?_

Something inside the refrigerator looked different. She remembered she had a bit of milk before she left that morning, even checking if it wasn't spoiled before she poured some in her coffee. The trash bin below her sink cradled the empty container. She felt unusual with the faint, but uncertain memory of putting the carton back where she found it.

After a moment, she shrugged and closed her eyes.

"You've been tired all day, old girl," she told herself as she bent backwards in an attempt to stretch. Without sparing another thought to the other recent oddities inside her apartment, she made her way to the bathroom. A very long bubble bath was on her agenda.

Kaname peeled her clothes one by one on the hallway. Off came her blouse, her skirt, and her accessories. She was about to unhook her bra when she suddenly came to a halt, the heel of her right foot suspended from the wooden floor.

The lights of the bathroom were open.

If there was one habit she picked up living alone, it was turning off all power switches inside her apartment when she left. She had been living alone for ten years since she was a teenager, and rent along with utilities payments didn't become cheaper through the years. The milk carton could be a simple lapse in memory, but years of energy-saving wasn't.

Feeling the itch of beading perspiration all over her skin, she tiptoed back to the kitchen and retrieved a metal baseball bat inside one of the lower cabinets. She had no idea where Sousuke kept his guns, and she refused to entertain the idea of using any of his weaponry to disable an unwanted intruder. She had her reliable swing and her distracting state of semi-nakedness to her advantage.

She started her slow and silent trek in the direction of the bathroom, her heart banging against her chest with every step.

_What could he possibly want inside the bathroom? He's probably peeing. Great. His pants are down. Easier for me. __Just great._

Feeling a surge of adrenaline course through her limbs, Kaname kicked the bathroom door and stormed into the tiled room.

_I'll swing this thing at his disgusting, revolting, repulsive, hideous, vile, disastrous excuse of a pe__—_

Her arms froze in mid-swing.


	2. Chapter 2

Kaname Chidori believed in women's intuition—when women expected things with an unexplainable yet astute sense of conviction— but never in her life did she ever expect to witness Sousuke Sagara seemingly asleep inside a bathtub full of bubbly foam.

She slowly lowered her bat, her gaze never leaving the sleeping soldier. His head was resting on the small depression at the head of the tub, his face titled to the right towards her. She noticed his torn, brown fatigues neatly folded over the hamper across the sink. She became afraid to check whether that shade of brown was the result of dried blood. _For the love of God, Sousuke. How long has he been here? Why didn't he call me before coming back?_

From missing him to having nearly cracked open his skull by accident, she felt the need to spend a minute or so staring at him to calm her erratic heartbeat. _He must have been so exhausted._

Soon enough, the corners of Kaname's mouth went skyward. _Well, the good thing is he's back and in my bathtub._

She set her bat down gently on the bathroom rug. Moving closer to the hamper, she removed her bra and underwear and set them neatly above her soldier's clothes. She tied her hair in a bun. Completely naked, she climbed inside the bathtub slowly, slipping her foot into the lukewarm water carefully so as not to startle him awake. She felt around for space, and when she couldn't find any, she dipped her arms, moved his legs, and made room for herself.

Surprisingly, he didn't jerk awake like she expected him to. For all he knew, she could be the unwanted intruder.

Small bubbles popped upon contact with her skin as she settled inside the tub. Her hands were on his ankles and her knees were pressed to her breasts. She licked her lips in anticipation. The water felt nice, but the feel of his body made her feel safe again.

"Sousuke," she whispered, her thumbs pressing more firmly on his skin. No reaction.

"Sousuke," she repeated, relaxing her body more, moving her hands to press his firm calves. His powerful legs. She felt the blush spread all over body, and it wasn't just the heat of the water anymore.

He groaned, and she felt his body twitch. She wasn't sure if he knew it was her. He could very well come at her from his position and snap her neck before he realized it was her. His unresponsiveness could be part of his plan.

"Chidori," he said her name quietly as if her name merely escaped from his mouth. He was coming to, but his eyes were still closed. If she hadn't been staring at him so intently, she would have missed the short-lived crease of his brow.

_You knew it was me all along. _"Welcome back, soldier."

She wondered if he could feel her thumbs tracing small circles near his knees. She smiled the smile that a woman shows when a great weight has been lifted from her chest. She felt incredibly blessed to have him come back to her, and he seemed to be in one piece. She moved her hands to touch his toes. _One, two, three...ten toes. Good. _She almost laughed at herself.

Without warning, in the middle of her reverie, his arm peeked out of the water towards hers. She felt his wet fingers gently slip around her arm. He slowly pulled her against him, having opened his eyes against heavy eyelids.

Her back was pressed against his chest. She felt several of his scars. She drew comfort from that.

His hot breath created a blazing trail from her ear to her shoulder. "Kaname," he said breathily as if intoxicated, chanting, as if her first name was the only word that mattered in his religion. His hands caressed her thighs, moving upwards until they settled just below her breasts. From there, his forearms drew her even closer to him. She felt his hardness—she gasped and reddened even more—but he didn't feed the growing fire. His chin settled on her shoulder, and she knew in some way, he was still asleep. She laid her head back on his shoulder and closed her eyes. They remained like that for a while.

"I'm sorry, Kaname," he started, causing her eyes to flutter open. The white of the ceiling was blinding. "I didn't mean to frighten you. I was going to call you after I disembarked from Dé Danaan, but I wanted to...surprise you. I wasn't exactly sure how. I arrived here around 20:00 hours. I fell asleep here where you found me." His fingers moved against her torso. He knew she was ticklish there.

She sighed happily. "There's nothing to be sorry about, you idiot," She turned her face a little towards his. "I had a week to myself before Melissa came and stayed for a few days. We had a great time. Then Kurz came and, well, I think I had to clean up a month's supply of beer cans between the two of them." She moved her face closer to his. Through his bangs, his eyes were closed. "I'm just glad you came back to me alive, Sousuke." she said, even if he didn't catch it.

She could only look at his eyelashes as he opened his eyes. _Even his damn eyelashes._ Before she knew it, their mouths were pressed together in one of the softest kisses they've shared in weeks.

His lips eventually fell down to her chin when he had to breathe. He kissed her there. "I'll always come back to you, Kaname. I intend to keep that promise. You have this soldier's word."

Her eyes burned with fresh tears as she twisted her body around to embrace him. The soapy water around them sloshed over the edge of the bathtub, drenching the carpet. He held on to her tightly as she cried. He didn't have to tell her that he thought of her every minute of every day whether or not he was in the middle of struggling with the Lambda Driver or writing a report. The idea that she could be left alone without him in the event that he was unable to come back caused him great inner and physical anguish. She had inexplicably become such a big, essential part of him.

Sousuke Sagara firmly believed, and he knew this for a fact, that no one in the world was capable enough to protect and make Kaname Chidori happy save for him.

No one else.

"I missed you so much."

"I missed you, too."

"I slept with a stupid stun gun under my pillow for two weeks because of you."

"You didn't have to worry, Kaname," She braced herself by tightening her hold around his broad shoulder. "Before I left, I installed four hidden sentry guns in this apartment while you were out. There's one in our bedroom, the kitchen, the living room, and here in this bathroom, naturally. I took it upon myself to attach the guns to a computer system at a spot below the couch to shield it from any stray gunfire. By doing all that, I was able to manipulate the guns' target selection. I simply programmed the sensor and facial recognition systems to tell you apart from other moving bodies so as not kill you. Of course, I had to configure it first to detect signs of struggle, identify hostile behaviour, and analyze physiological factors such as heart rate and pupillary response. You were perfectly safe while I was gone."

If they were still in high school, she would already have whipped her fan out and smacked him dramatically on his head. He'd tell her what she did hurt him, and she would have hurled one of her tirades about sensitivity and normalcy towards him. She also wouldn't be pressed against him completely wet and naked.

"Oh, yeah?" She pulled away from him a bit, an action he found quite displeasing, having gotten immediately used to the feel of her breasts against his chest. She looked at him playfully, and it was the grin on her face—moist, pink lips and all—that kept him at attention. "Sure, I was safe here, but what about when I stepped outside the door and found myself in trouble?"

She watched a drop of water fall from his bangs. She was naked and flushed against him, the steam rising up to meet her skin. He could have looked at her forever like that.

"That's when you call me," he said, bringing up a wet hand to wipe her tear-stained cheek with his thumb. "That's when I'll come running back." Her heart couldn't beat any faster.

Kaname decided that they had been talking too much already, and that the conversation can be picked up again tomorrow. She bent forward to kiss him on his lips, an action he mirrored, when she suddenly tilted her head up, and gave his nose what his lips were ready for. In the quiet moment they shared where the water around them made the loudest sounds, he grew confused.

She flashed him one of her winning smiles, and he could have swore she looked like the disarming sixteen year-old he met nearly a decade ago. "You're tired, Sousuke. You can barely keep your eyes open."

"It's not a problem," he assured her, wanting her to come closer to him again, his scarred body yearning for hers. She hadn't realized how much she always misses him telling her what wasn't a problem.

She shook her head with a smiling face, and stood up, disrupting the bubbles, the fragrant water, and Sousuke's hope of spending more time with his very supple and very, very naked girlfriend inside the bathtub. _Girlfriend._


	3. Chapter 3

_FLASHBACK_

"Kan...ame," he choked out, sweat beading on his brow. He couldn't even look at her. He wanted to ask her something for a good week already. He wanted to understand. That night at that Chinese restaurant completely baffled him. He even considered talking to the Arbalest's AI to get answers. _That piece of junk._

"What?" She looked up from her reviewer, the end of her orange highlighter dangling from her mouth.

"I'm afraid I..." More sweat. The room became stifling. He was sure he was about to pop a vein any moment. "A-are we..." His question would jeopardize their four years of friendship. "Am I...?"

She felt concern for him, but that quickly transformed into slight annoyance. Six hours of non-stop studying nibbled at her patience. "Spit it out, Sousuke. I'm a little busy here." She stretched her arms above her head and felt the knots on her back untangling.

"Oh, well, I...if you're busy, Chidori, I'll just...um, right. I'm sorry," He was stammering. Even more sweat. "I apologize for disturbing you." He was accepting defeat. He felt ashamed and relieved at the same time. The question would have to wait until...well, he wasn't sure. He considered consulting Mao more about this matter. No doubt she would have more knowledge about this. If he approached Kurz, a series of prodding and pushing would only aggravate him more. It would definitely have to be Mao.

He started to march away, his legs stiff from standing in one spot so rigidly for so long.

"Hold on."

He froze at the sound of her voice. He knew he should have changed into his fatigues before this attempt at clarity.

"What is it, Sousuke?"

She didn't seem angry, but for all he knew, she could be holding her fan inches away from his head. What this really worth the risk of her avoiding him or insulting her? Or causing a rift between them so large he might just go back to Hong Kong and stay holed up there until he died the last time they were truly apart? "Chidori, I..." He closed his eyes and kept his arms glued to his side. "I do not understand the current situation. I find that my knowledge in this area is very limited, and it is not my intention to discomfort you in any way, however, I...I..." _Shit. _He braced himself for the hit.

But instead, he felt her hand against his back. The shock of it caused him to flinch. Her touch was so warm.

"Was this about the other day?" Her voice was calm. He felt a little stupid for having worried so much. "When I told you I love you, and I said I wish we were more?"

_But I was only correct to worry. This is too important. _"Affirmative."

"You're such a big knucklehead, you know that?"

"I'm sorry."

Her fingers clutched a portion of his shirt, eventually eased their hold, and dropped away. He instantly regretted apologizing, but he considered saying sorry again. He was almost sure he said the wrong thing again. Like he seemed to always do.

Until he felt her fingers occupy the space between his beside his leg. Their palms pressed together. She placed her other hand back on his back, in the same spot, as if it was his body's source of heat. He wondered if she could feel his dangerously violent heartbeat.

"Kaname," He said in a voice that took almost all his strength. "All I know is I..." She held his hand more firmly. "I don't want to be without you. Ever." He could have been more articulate, he thought, but at the moment, those words represented all his intentions and all his courage. He couldn't tell her he couldn't say the words she wanted to hear yet—because he wanted to understand it all on his own first and save her from the burden of educating him all the time like a child—but he felt them; he was sure of that.

He was just standing. He could still feel her hand through his clothes. It was as if she was the one holding him up. His body relaxed. "I'll make this easier for you, Sousuke."

_What?_

Then, he felt her two hands on his back again, followed by the top of her head on his nape. He didn't realize he had been holding his breath, and this made him dizzy, but the feel of her body against his was beyond pleasurable.

"We'll take this one day at a time."


	4. Chapter 4

Waking up on a soft bed felt odd to him after three weeks of sleeping propped up against a tree or up one with the occasional grenade as an alarm clock. Sousuke Sagara's back ached, but not for reasons that had anything to do with the new softness of the mattress. Rather, it was because of the softness of one Kaname Chidori, his girlfriend of five years.

_Girlfriend._

He realized he was hugging a pillow instead of her slender torso. He also learned that if cotton was soft, Kaname's skin was silk. The most piercing realization, however, came a second later when the fact that she was nowhere to be found near him caught up to him.

His whole body tensed, any trace of his peaceful slumber gone. _Where is she_? Without another thought, he concluded that someone must have entered their apartment while they were sleeping. Perhaps someone who held a grudge with him or someone who had discovered she was a Whispered. He had always woken up before Kaname. He knew every time she moved beside or against him. He didn't know why he was so tired.

Quickly grabbing the gun he placed under the mattress, he slowly surveyed the room, the firearm tense in front of him, as he pulled on a pair of boxers. Making as little sound as possible, he stepped out of the bedroom and kept his back against the darker side of the wall. He moved slowly, silently, but surely. His sweat pricked his senses alive.

There was light coming from the kitchen. He tightened his grip on his gun, his arm tensed and trigger finger ready. He heard the clank of plates being pushed together and a blender buzzing. He remembered a certain character called Hannibal Lecter during one of the quiet nights when Kaname was home early from work and he wasn't preoccupied with anything. If he remembered correctly, this character had an affinity for cannibalism. Sousuke felt his skin tighten all over as he envisioned a piece of Kaname's thigh pierced on a fork.

Gritting his teeth, he stepped into the light, the gun's safety off, his trigger finger at the ready.

What he saw made him question his intelligence.


	5. Chapter 5

Kaname Chidori had one of the best nights she had in weeks. It was so good—even without sex she was certainly hankering for—that she fell into the mood of making pancakes shaped like hearts, cacti, the letter S, and Bontakun. Unbeknownst to her that she had a streak of flour on her cheek, she gingerly poured the batter onto her hot pan while being cautious not to keep the blender whirring for too long. Her boyfriend, having been home for at least twelve hours, was back in her bed. Life was back on track.

While reaching for her heart-shaped pancake mould, she thought she heard a creak just then.

She glanced behind her, hoping Sousuke wasn't awake yet. She saw nothing but the kitchen table crowded with mixing bowls, her tray of eggs, a stick of butter, and the stack of kitchenware she was going to arrange later.

Suddenly, an idea popped inside her head. "Blueberries!" Walking quietly to the refrigerator, she hadn't roused Sousuke awake when she slipped away from his arms. She shrugged the idea off, however, when she discovered that she only had lemons.


	6. Chapter 6

_An error. A critical error._

Sousuke placed his gun back, having removed the magazine, under the mattress. He swiped a hand across his face, clearing it of the sheet of perspiration he managed to produce in a span of minutes. He sighed to himself as he walked back towards the kitchen, not having bothered to put on a shirt. It would only get in the way.

He peaked quietly into the kitchen where he found his girlfriend pouring fresh orange juice into two glasses. A stack of warm, fragrant, oddly shaped pancakes were beside a plate of eggs, sausages, and bacon. Without warning, his stomach decided to celebrate the morning with a loud groan.

Kaname's head whipped up from putting used bowls on the sink. "Good morning," she said with kind eyes and a smile. She was wearing one of his old t-shirts. It was stretched and thin over years of use. He could almost see her skin through it. She could have sold that for thousands of dollars, he thought, with the way she looked.

Without saying a word, he walked over to her, bypassing the feast she put out, and gathered her up in his arms as he kissed her passionately, almost fearing that his mouth crashed against her lips too strongly. As her tongue moved against his, he figured things were still going smoothly. His hand moved from her waist to cradle her head, caressing the supple skin it passed. He moved his thumb over one of her breasts. She moaned into the kiss as her nipples hardened in excitement.

He slowly pushed her against the counter and encouraged her to wrap her arms around his neck without ever allowing his lips to leave hers. Once he felt she had held on to him, he hoisted her up, her legs instantly wrapping around his waist. He groaned as he ran his hands all over her thighs and caressed her torso.

They had to take in air at some point.

"Good morning," he said.

Looking at him like a cyclone had just ripped their modest house from its cement base, she managed to flash him a small grin. Clearly, she wasn't expecting a greeting like that, and she was afraid that if she spoke, she might break the momentum.

Eventually, her grin turned into a full smile. She felt herself blushing all over. Kaname cupped Sousuke's face in her hands. "Hungry?"

He pulled her hips against his while maintaining his gaze at her. She instinctively gasped and bit her lip.

"Yes." He said in his deep, low, and incredibly sexy voice.

As Kaname braced herself against the counter and tensed her legs, he suddenly, unbelievably, and cruelly pulled away. To say that she was flabbergasted is an understatement. "Sousuke…?"

"Yes, I'm hungry." He repeated. At that moment, a sly grin appeared at the corner of his mouth. "For bacon." He picked up a strip of meat with his fingers and started to chew on it leisurely. As he was chewing, he felt the beginnings of an uncontrollable chuckle and let it escape between bites.

With her mouth still open, she narrowed her eyes at the sight of him, enjoying his pork strip, shirtless, with his hair like that, and his toned physique. "I…" She began as she alighted from the counter. "I can't believe you just did that!" She was far from being livid, but instead, she looked at him with playfulness on her face, as if the fact that he just came back from a life-threatening mission could be equated to him going to the grocery store to buy cauliflower. She let out a chuckle herself as she placed her hands on her hips, smiling at him brightly. "Come here," she beckoned good-naturedly.

She realized at that point that she had missed his smile that much. He continued to chew, his face completely relaxed and mischievous. "Bacon," he replied, as he held up an inch of the stuff in front of her, taking small steps back.

Kaname Chidori laughed, throwing her hands up in the air in an exaggerated fashion. "Oh, you are so going to get it, Sousuke Sagara!" She hastily said as she took off on a run after her boyfriend who managed to pop the last bit of bacon into his mouth before he set off as well.

"I better!" He shouted back at her, running to their living room, jumping over the couch, and eventually catching her as turned and collided into him. His lips found hers again as he lifted her up. He could feel her joy through their kiss.

Needless to say, all that running limbered them both up, a soft couch nearby proved to be useful, and Sousuke's state of shirtlessness made things very efficient.

"I love you."


End file.
